New Japan Cup Bracket Revealed

The bracket for the New Japan Cup has been revealed. The annual tournament will determine the number one contender for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with the winner receiving a title shot at G1 Supercard.

The New Japan Cup has doubled in size from last year, jumping from 16 participants to 32. The single elimination tournament will take place from March 8th until the finals on March 23rd. This year’s tournament will feature eight former IWGP Heavyweight Champions, as well as the returns of Hikuleo, Michael Elgin and Mikey Nicholls (FKA Nick Miller in NXT). You can read more about Nicholls in New Japan Pro Wrestling here.

The most likely winners will be Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and Kota Ibushi. As the winner will be main eventing the G1 Supercard show at Madison Square Garden, New Japan will likely want the biggest star possible to win. However, the New Japan Cup has often been the site for surprise wins in recent years, so a dark horse pick may still have a chance.

The lineups for the opening round of the New Japan Cup are as follows:

March 8 – Korakuen Hall

Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Juice Robinson vs. Chase Owens

Tomoaki Honma vs. Taichi

Manabu Nakanishi vs. YOSHI-HASHI

March 9 – Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium

Toa Henare vs. Lance Archer

Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale

Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin

Mikey Nicholls vs. HIKULEO

March 10 – Hyogo Baycom Gymnasium

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. David Finlay

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shota Umino

EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

March 11 – Kagawa Takamatsu City General Gymnasium #1

Toru Yano vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Satoshi Kojima vs. Minoru Suzuki

Hirooki Goto vs. SANADA

Togi Makabe vs. Colt Cabana

Who is your pick to win the New Japan Cup? Let us know in the comments below, on Twitter or on Discord!